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28-04-12

Bahrain's Batelco reports USD42.5m profit in Q1

(MENAFN) Bahrain Telecommunications Co (Batelco) posted eight percent decline quarterly profits, as its subscriber base continued to contract shrunk, and losses generated from its Yemeni unit, Reuters reported. The state-backed company said it made a USD42.5 million net profit in the first quarter, down from USD46.14 million a year earlier. Batelco also reported four percent decline in first-quarter revenue to USD205.66 million from a year earlier. Batelco's total subscriber base fell to 6.9 million from 11 million in the fourth-quarter of 2011, which it said was mainly due it excluding Indian affiliate S Tel. Batelco, in February, sold back its 43 percent stake in S Tel to its Indian partner for USD175 million after India's Supreme Court ordered licenses held by eight operators including S Tel to be revoked following a 2G telecoms scandal. Home mobile subscriber base fell 1 percent, giving it a market share of 44 percent, while fixed broadband subscribers dropped 21 percent, the company said. Batelco's Yemeni unit (Sabafon), which claims to have been the victim of a deadly government vendetta, posted a 6 percent drop in subscribers. Batelco took a write-off of BD2m on the Yemeni affiliate in the first quarter. The firm's cash and bank balances fell 6 percent from a year earlierUSD162.9 million, as its Jordanian unit (Umniah) paid USD70 million for a 3G license in January.

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